$20,000 Heads-up Championship | 2010 NBC Heads-Up Poker Championship

03-07-2010 07:33 UTC-12

Time Out?

[user75032]

Scotty Nguyen and Jason Mercier both just got up from the feature table, walked off the set and headed for the poker room exit. Most likely it's just a smoke break, as Nguyen wanted to go catch a cigarette right before play started.

03-07-2010 07:26 UTC-12

Somber Atmosphere

[user75032]

There's not a ton of energy on the set this morning. Despite the fact that the gallery is full (and the producers have been passing out tasteful black GoDaddy.com baseball caps) it feels funereal to start the day.

We didn't expect any chatter from Peter Eastgate and Erik Seidel, and haven't been disappointed in that regard. On the front table, Scotty Nguyen is known for being a talker but he's very subdued. Jason Mercier isn't engaging him at all so what we're witnessing right now is library poker.

03-07-2010 07:24 UTC-12

Structure Changes

[user108095]

Now that we've entered the Elite 8, players get a few more blinds to work with.

Each player starts the day with 160,000 in chips and blind levels of 1,000/2,000, giving them 80 big blinds to play with during the Quaterfinals.

When we begin the final four, players will have 320,000 chips each and begin with blinds of 1,500/3,000 - giving them about 106 big blinds to work with during the match.

In the Finals, blinds will start at 3,000/6,000 and players will begin each match with 640,000 chips, again giving them a starting stack worth 106 big blinds.

03-07-2010 07:13 UTC-12

Cards Are in the Air

[user108095]

Play has now started in today's first two matches as Scotty Nguyen faces off against Jason Mercier and Erik Seidel takes on Peter Eastgate.

03-07-2010 07:02 UTC-12

Holding Pattern

[user75032]

We're still getting things worked out on the set. It looks we'll start with Jason Mercier and Scotty Nguyen on the feature table (though Eastgate tried to take a seat there) and Peter Eastgate and Erik Seidel on the back table.

03-07-2010 05:24 UTC-12

This Is It!

[user75032]

The day dawned gray and rainy here in Las Vegas, Nevada, but hopefully that won't dampen the spirits inside the Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino for the finale of the 2010 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

Eight players remain from the starting field of 64. The thrilling elimination of Paul Wasicka by Annie Duke in the last match of Day 2 ensured that there will be a first-time champion once again this year.

Four former WSOP Main Event champions remain in the hunt for the title. One of them -- 2007 champion Jerry Yang -- is for sure a "bracket buster". Few picked the enigmatic Yang to make it to this stage of the tournament.

The Elite Eight will be on set at approximately 11am local time (in about an hour and a half) to begin the final push. More than pride and prize money are on the line -- the four who win their first match will receive an automatic invitation to next year's tournament.

Here are the matches that will start the day:

{A-Spades}